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How to Prepare to Set Up Your Camping Tent
For anyone living the rustic life on a far-off campsite as their yearly vacation, the trick to camping isn’t necessarily living off of the land: it’s living in your tent. If you were prudent, you brought along a tent that you know how to set up, effectively holds out moisture and insects, and provides a comfortable shelter for you and yours on your camping trip. But what if you’ve never tried it before? Here are some brief tips for setting up a tent the next time you go camping.
First, there are two ways to prepare, and you’ll want to try both of them. The first is to make sure you have a good tent in hand. If an old camping tent is available, make sure to take it out before your trip: check for holes, tears, and anything else that might compromise the tent’s functions as a shelter. If you don’t have an old tent lying around, make sure that you do plenty of research in order to find the best and most cost-effective tent available near you.
Once you have a tent in hand, you’ll want to make sure you know to set it up. Nothing is more frustrating than traveling all the way out to your campsite, only to find out that one small part of the instructions doesn’t make any sense and is ruining your experience. By taking out your tent and setting it up in the front yard a week or so before you go camping, you can work out those kinks ahead of time. If you get stuck at any one particular point, you can take the time to figure it out in a situation in which you don’t actually need the shelter.Setting up a tent usually relies on a few things: stakes, tent poles, and the tent tarp. Most tent structures are established by having you drive a few stakes into the ground. These stakes will typically have something attached to them – such as a loop – that the tent poles can then essentially “plug in” to, allowing the poles to bend and create a dome-like skeleton over your head.
Once this skeleton is complete, you follow the tent instructions and lay the tarp over the skeleton, making sure that it’s properly laid out and attached in every area. Then you’re free to unzip the door and climb in.
Each tent is different, but if you know how to put up a tent, you’ll have a head start the next time you take the family out to the woods. Just make sure you’ve read the directions already!
Photo Credits: candescent
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Finding Light Gear For Your Backpacking Trip
There are two ways that you could potentially remember your backpacking trip. You might remember the peace that comes with solitude, the connection with nature that comes when you remove civilization from your life and head out under the sky. You might remember the stars over your campsite each night, and how it brought about deep questions about your life. Or, you can remember how uncomfortable the experience was, how heavily your backpack weighed you down, and the blisters on your feet.
Needless to say, we want to avoid the latter backpacking trip. Which is why it’s so important that your backpacking gear be as lightweight as possible – the more it can get out of the way of your experience, the better. It’s one thing to pack one lightweight item, but once your supplies add up, you realize just how quickly twenty pounds turns into forty. If you want to make sure that you carry as little weight as possible, you’ll have to consider all over your supplies and their impact on your traveling weight.
What supplies will you want to consider?
Your backpack (and how it distributes weight) will be important, as will cookware and your water. Necessary items like first-aid kits can be lightweight but you’ll want to make sure to err on the side of safety. For some more help, here are some supplies that can help you travel lightweight.The North Face Ion 20 Backpack weighs under two pounds and has a suspension system and molded foundation that provides for comfort. The less backpack you’re carrying, the more supplies you can bring: that’s the idea behind a backpack like the Ion 20.
Other features include a rain cover, a front “stash” pocket, and water-friendly options. Needless to say, you’ll want a backpack like this if you’re interested in staying as comfortable as possible during your backpacking trip.
MSR DuraLite Classic Cookset. This cookset registers at over half a kilo or just over a pound (20.6 ounces, to be precise), which means that you won’t have to notice that you’re carrying so much cookware. If you plan on having some nice hot meals at night before you rest, you’ll want to make sure that you have a set of cookware that is lightweight.
Remember that backpacking doesn’t have to be all about the supplies. Instead, you’ll want to make sure that your supplies simply stay out of the way as much as possible. The experience is about you, not your supplies, which is why you shouldn’t let them weigh you down.
Photo Credits: kevindooley
